Search for the True Paradise
by WingedAngel1364
Summary: Takes place after the last episode. They wake up in the new world not knowing where they others are, but after Kiba reunites them they find out they aren't in the real Paradise. This all due to Darcia's interference in the last world. So the 4 of them continue their journey, but the events that took place in the last world still haunt them. Plus where's Chesea? Is she even alive?
1. Chapter 1

AN:** I decided to make this fanfic after I finished re-watching Wolf's Rain for the second time and I remembered how much the ending pissed me off ****! So this story will take place after the last episode and they all went to "Paradise" but they find out that due to Darcia's interference that they were not sent to Paradise but instead just to another world. And they begin they're journey over but where is Cheza? Did she actually die or is she also somewhere in this new world? Please review my story and let me know what you think ^_^ Please enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: Pound Meeting**

Kiba ran down the alley, his paws barely touching the ground as he escaped yet another Dog Pound truck. The humans were persistent, but he didn't feel any evil intent from them and would prefer not to hurt them if possible. He quickly turned left down another alley, but it lead to a dead end. He had been in this city for only a couple of days and hadn't had time to get a feel for the layout of the city. He cursed under his breath and turned to backtrack, but the dog chasers already had the path blocked off using their van.

Kiba took a deep breath and sprinted toward them. He could easily jump over them, but as he was a about jump the back door of the van swung open to reveal a kid with sandy brown messy hair and light brown eyes. He was wearing a short sleeved yellow hoodie with a black stripe down both sleeves and a long sleeve black shirt under it. Kiba skidded to a stop as his eyes met with the boy's eyes.

"Kiba?" The kid barely got out his name before the dog catchers had Kiba pinned to the ground using a pole with a loop at the end. The boy watched, feeling confused at what to do.

"He's too wild. Let's give him a sedative," one of the catchers yelled. They prepared the shot and Kiba's vision slowly began to fade.

_Hi…ge? Why?_ Kiba's thoughts went black and his body limp. Hige couldn't believe what had just happened. Why had Kiba been here? And why was he not in his human form? Why run around in his true form as a wolf?

_He's lucky these guys think he's a husky, _Hige thought,_ or else he'd be dead._

Hige helped the other catchers load Kiba up and take him back to the pound. Once there, they locked him into one of the cages. Hige volunteered to be the one to stay and look after the new 'dog'. The pound also doubled as a veterinarian clinic so they had a room with a bed, a small fridge, and a microwave for when the vet had a really bad patient that needed to be watched on overnight. Hige was planning on crashing there for the night while he waited for Kiba to wake up.

Hige sat on the floor outside of Kiba's cage. It reminded him of how they had met the first time. Kiba had been shot and locked in a cage, though that one was much stronger than this one, inside a government lab. Hige had snuck into the building in an attempt to cure his boredom and stumbled across the injured wolf. He helped him escape and the two have been friends ever since, though their bond was stronger than the bond of human friendships. This is because Hige and Kiba were a pack. They watched out for each other. Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and Tsume. They all did.

Hige looked at Kiba, who was still sound asleep, and noticed he looked thin and malnourished. He went and grabbed a bowl of food and water and opened the cage, setting the bowls down. He then grabbed a moist towel and dabbed it on Kiba's head. "I don't remember you being such a heavy sleeper. Usually I was the one sleeping to the last minute." Hige smiled but it quickly faded as he noticed how severe the malnourishment was. He could see his ribs. Hige frowned as he recalled a situation a lot like this after Kiba had been trapped under a paralyzing plant for days without any food or water. It had taken a while for Kiba to get his strength back after that.

Hige gently shook Kiba. "Hey don't you think you've slept enough?" He asked not getting a response. "Kiba!" Hige bent down closer to him and noticed he wasn't hearing Kiba's breathing. "Damn it!" He shook Kiba again this time harder. "Kiba! Kiba!"

He stopped as Kiba's tail began to move and Kiba lifted his head and looked at Hige weakly. "Loud as ever, huh?"

Hige sighed. "What the hell man? You stopped breathing!" Hige stated.

"My breathing didn't stop, it only slowed down." Kiba' pointed out as he stood up and went to the water, drinking the bowl dry in a matter of seconds.

"Kiba, why are you so weak?" Hige asked, worrying about his friends health.

"I didn't have time to stop and eat all the time, that's all." Kiba quickly moved to the food.

Hige watched as Kiba ate. He frowned. "What drives you like this? We've made it to Paradise haven't we? I mean, it's not at all like I imagined, but our kind isn't extinct here and we aren't being hunted."

Kiba laughed. "This isn't paradise. This is some other place. Our journey isn't over yet."

Hige looked at Kiba shocked. "But this is a completely different world; it has to be Paradise!" Hige couldn't accept this. This had to be Paradise. If it wasn't then that would mean Blue had given her life away for nothing.

Kiba looked at Hige, his face showing his conflictions. Kiba knew this couldn't be easy for them to accept. They all died to get here. Kiba wasn't sure exactly how it worked, but after he died he woke up here and he could only hope the same happened to the others and that they weren't actually dead. Then he saw Hige. He was so happy to know that Hige was here because it meant that the others might be here as well.

"Look, let's find the others, Hige. We can discuss it further after that." Kiba stood, taking on his human form, which was a boy with chin length dark brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a black jacket, which he always wore open revealing his loose white undershirt, with the sleeves pushed up to just under his elbows. His light blue jeans were a perfect fit and his white and black convers looked worn. "Let's go."

Hige nodded. "I know where to find Tsume. He and I ran into each other a while back."

Kiba nodded. "Any idea where Toboe is?" Hige shook his head. "Alright, let's just focus on finding Tsume for now."

Hige nodded and lead Kiba outside. "He's been hanging out on the east side of the city with a gang of humans. Sound familiar?"

"Sounds like Tsume."

"True. Let's go." The two of them began to make their way to the east side of the city.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Just to clear up something for the FanGirls, or FanGuys, I don't judge, I'm not planning on having a KibaXHige in here but if it happens it happens. Also I'm still debating on the relationship I want to have between Toboe and Tsume. It'll either be a brother like relationship or a lover one. Kind of depends on how I decide I want my story to progress, but please feel free to review and give me your opinion on the matter. ^_^ Thanks for reading!**

**Chapter 2: Enter Elliot of the North**

Tsume walked into the abandoned warehouse. It was dim and the only light came from the moon through the two windows on the roof. The dusty air aggravated his nose, but it was something he had learned to deal with. As he walked to the back of the warehouse, he passed several people huddled together asleep on the floor. Tsume gritted his teeth in frustration as he passed a mother holding her two children in a blanket. The little girl was crying about something and the boy was trying to comfort her along with the mother.

"Tsume!"

Tsume turned to see one of the younger gang members running up behind him. "What's the matter Rio?"

The boy stopped to catch his breath. Rio had short, messing black hair and looked like he just rolled out of a dumpster. Not too surprising since they all looked that way. "It's Zeek and Pip-Squeak!"

This caught Tsume's attention. Zeek and Pip-Squeak were orphaned and Tsume's group had taken them in. Zeek was a lot like Tsume. Tough and easily angered. Pip-Squeak, Zeek's younger sister, was a mute. She couldn't say words but she would squeak at you, which was part of her nickname, along with the fact she was the tiniest girl Tsume had ever seen. Pip-Squeak was a kind and gentle little girl. Everyone loved her.

"What about them, Rio?" Tsume asked getting annoyed.

"The gang on the north side of town took Pip-Squeak and Zeek got beat pretty badly, but he refused to come back with me and took off after Pip-Squeak!" Rio looked pale and worried sick. Then again who wouldn't be? The gang to the North was rumored to be the most violent of the gangs currently occupying the city of Venus.

"Damn those bastards!" Tsume spat. "Go get Hom, Jake, and Oz. Tell them to meet me at the bridge at 5th and Maple!" Tsume didn't wait to hear a response before he took off running out the door.

It had started to rain a while ago, which didn't help Tsume's bad mood. He didn't like rain. It held to many bad memories. He had been waiting for his three generals for almost ten minutes and was beginning to become impatient. He leaned his back against one of the bridges supporting columns. His mind began to wonder as he thought about his generals.

Hom was a 19 year old. He was shy at first glance, but is at loyal as a dog once you're his friend. He was the strongest hand-to-hand combat artist they had. Tsume never cared for street fighters, but he acknowledged Hom's ability.

Next was Jake. He was an interesting kid and only 16 years old. He had a knack for making things go boom. His crazy bright orange hair was what first caught Tsume's attention. The kid would stick out in any crowd. Unfortunately, that hair had a bad habit of attracting the wrong kind of attention as well. Many people didn't believe it was his real hair color. Tsume smiled as he remembered the incident that took place a few weeks after Jake had joined the gang. One of the older kids told him he was lying about his hair and the fight drew in the people of the warehouse. Fights were a normal thing and no one ever stopped them because once they were over and they got the anger out of their systems, they'd go back to laughing and joking again. Jake had decided that the only way to prove that his hair color was true was to drop everything from the waist down.

Tsume had to interfere that time. He jumped in and wacked Jake on the head. Yelled at him and told him to think of the kids that were probably going to be mentally scarred for the rest of their lives. Jake apologized. The kid admired Tsume for whatever reason and almost never went against him.

The third and last of his generals was Oz, or Oscar. Oz was 27. Oz was older then Tsume, but never used that over him. Oz was a real easy going kind of guy. He was an amazing friend, and an even better cook. He could make anything taste good, which came in handy when they had to dig through garbage for food. Of course, Tsume never had to eat it. He hunted for himself and let the humans have the best food because their stomachs weren't as strong as his.

Tsume started to think about how he had joined the group about seven months ago. He had woken up very confused. He could have sworn he had died. Not to mention when he did die he was nowhere near a city. He quickly took his human form and found himself fighting the previous leader. Tsume had only wanted to stay in the warehouse for a few nights, but the guy wanted to fight and Tsume had no problem using his strength against a human. Tsume easily took him down and won a spot in the gang, but then a month later the boss was shot in a drive-by incident and killed on the spot.

The gang mourned his death and for some reason they made him the new boss.

"Hey, Boss!" A voice broke through Tsume's thoughts. It was Oz. He quickly took shelter next to Tsume under the bridge. "Rio told me what happened. You sure you want to take on the North?"

Tsume only nodded as Jake and Hom also arrived. Hom looked like he was about to rip someone's head off. "Let's go get those bastards!"

"Whoa, calm down there Mr. Macho." Jake said. "Boss Man, what's the plan?"

Tsume looked at them. "Let's just go and see if fighting can be avoided."

"And if not?" Jake asked.

Tsume smiled. "Well then I suppose we send their scrawny little asses to hell because no one messes with our people!"

"Oh, yeah!" Hom yelled as he threw a fist in the air. Jake and Oz nodded in agreement.

"Let's go get those kids back." Tsume lead the way to the area the North gang was rumored to hang out. It was an old toy factory. The windows were all broken and the sign had fallen off ages ago. The four of them looked around.

"Hey, Tsume, you sure this is the place?" Hom asked. "It seems a little quiet."

Tsume listened carefully. There were definitely people here. "Just keep your eyes open and stay ready."

They began to get closer to the building when a tall figure stepped into sight. He had long blond hair held back in a ponytail. His cold blue eyes were watching Tsume carefully as he smirked.

Tsume stared in shock. In the seven months that he had been in this city he hadn't meet anyone like himself there. He had just assumed all the other wolves didn't live in the cities, but this man in front of him was definitely a wolf.

"You look surprised, Tsume." The man took a few steps closer.

"You know this guy, Boss?" Jake asked.

Tsume shook his head. "No, but he's dangerous. You guys need to watch yourselves."

The man chuckled. "The name's Elliot and I believe you guys are in search of something, yes?"

"Where are the kids?" Tsume growled, taking a few steps closer toward Elliot.

"Tsk, tsk. Anger will get you nowhere." Elliot turned toward the factory. "Hey, guys, why don't you bring out the guests of honor!"

Tsume and his group tensed as they heard shuffling from within the factory and soon about fifteen guys came out one of them carried Pip-Squeak who had been tied up but looked ok. Another had Zeek thrown over his shoulder.

Tsume tried to see if the kids were ok, but couldn't get a good look at him until the guys had thrown the kids to the ground. Pip-Squeak winced and Zeek just hit the ground like a bag of rocks. He didn't move or make a sound. Tsume could feel the anger rising in his chest.

"Zeek!" Hom was about to run at the North gang members, but Tsume stopped him.

"He's not dead, Homs." Tsume motioned toward Zeek. Hom looked over and saw that Zeek's chest was still rising and lowering as he breathed. "Elliot, what is it you want? Why take two kids?"

Elliot laughed. "Why not? Human's make up most of the world's population. No one will care if one or two of them die. They'll be forgotten soon enough."

Tsume's hands formed fists as he tried to hold in his anger. "Let them go!"

Elliot got suddenly serious. "I don't see why I should. I'm bored and I'm hoping these kids will give me a little excitement."

Tsume took another few steps forward, away from Jake and the others. "Look, if you let them go, I'll fight you. That'll be more entertaining than fighting some human children, right?"

Elliot paused as if to ponder the offer. After a moment his face lit up. "I have a better idea. I'm going to beat you until I feel satisfied and if you can remain alive until then, I will release the children."

Tsume thought this over. He had been through a lot with Hige, Kiba, and the Runt. He was pretty confident he could take whatever this city boy had to offer. Tsume nodded only to get a lot of objections from behind.

"Boss, you can't do that!" Hom yelled.

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "Don't do this Tsume. Too many of us need you!"

Oz nodded. "Please Boss!"

Tsume gave them a smile. "Like some low city trash could kill me. You guys just stay still, that's an order." The three men went quiet and watch helplessly as their boss walked up to the leader of the North gang.

Without warning, Elliot slammed his knee into Tsume's stomach making him stumble backward. _That was a little stronger than excepted,_ Tsume thought to himself.

Elliot laughed as he proceeded to punch Tsume several times. Tsume winced a little as Elliot kicked him across the face then kneeing him in the gut once more.

"This is boring me once again." Elliot complained. "On your knees!"

Tsume bit his lip and got down on his knees.

Jake couldn't believe his eyes. Tsume was such a proud man. He never imagined him kneeling to anyone, yet right in front of him that's what was happening. "T-Tsume…"

Elliot laughed once again. "Why are you going this far for humans?"

Tsume knew why, but wasn't sure if he wanted to tell this man something so personal.

Elliot gritted his teeth. "So you don't care what happens to the children?"

"OK," Tsume said. "It's because of a friend of mine who died. He cherished these humans so much he was willing to die for them. If I had realized that, then I could have saved him." Tsume didn't like thinking about the Runt. Not many people had the power that kid had over him. It made him feel vulnerable.

Elliot grabbed Tsume by the hair. "You think I'll buy some stupid little lie like that?"

Tsume was about to respond when the wind shifted and his eyes widened as he caught two new scents. He couldn't believe his nose. Was it really them?

A sudden scream caused everyone to turn toward the factory. The men were all running away from a dead body that looked like it had its throat torn out. Tsume smile then chuckled lightly. "Those idiots."


	3. Chapter 3

**Wolfs Rain chapter 3: Leaving East**

Tsume never thought he'd be so happy to see those brats. Kiba and Hige were standing in the middle of the panicked humans.

"Wow," Hige said as he looked around. "I think I might be going crazy 'cause I could've sworn I was witnessing Tsume protecting humans."

Tsume frowned. "Shut it, Porky!"

A sudden yank on Tsume's hair quickly brought his attention back to Elliot. "Who are you guys? I thought Tsume didn't have a pack!"

Tsume smiled up at the frustrated look on Elliot's face. "Don't worry, neither did I." He swung his leg around, tripping Elliot and earning his freedom. He quickly jumped over to Zeek.

Jake was untying Pip-Squeak as Tsume rolled Zeek onto his back to look at how badly his was beaten. Zeek's left eye was swollen shut and his bottom lip was busted open. Tsume gently shook the boy. "Zeek, you need to wake up now. Your little sister needs you."

Pip-Squeak crawled over and took her brother's hand in hers. Her tear stained face only made Tsume want to walk over and punch the day lights out of that asshole, Elliot.

Zeek slowly came to and turned toward his sister. "Hey there Pip..."

Pip-Squeak squealed with excitement, glad to know her brother was ok. She squeaked at him and he nodded as if he understood what she was saying. "Yeah, it hurts, but I'll be fine."

Tsume was amazed. Those two were surprisingly close.

Hige walked over and was about to approach Tsume when Hom, Oz, and Jake quickly stepped between them. "Who are you?" Jake asked, glaring at the boy who didn't look too much older than him.

"Whoa! Calm down there bud. I'm a friend." Hige quickly stepped back.

Tsume laughed. "Step down guys. These two are from that old gang I told you about." Tsume walked right passed Jake and wrapped his arm around Hige's neck. "You're just as porky as ever!" He ruffled Hige's hair.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, but shouldn't we take care of that guy before we continue this little reunion?" Hige asked pointing towards Elliot who had gotten back on his feet.

"You! How dare you trip me!" Elliot's face was red with anger.

"Well," Hige began, "he swung his leg, hitting yours thus ending with your ass on the pavement."

This only angered Elliot more.

Kiba walked over and joined Tsume and Hige as they faced Elliot.

Elliot look at each of them, then sighed. "Ok," he said. "I give. I'm smart enough to know when I'm beat." He put his hands up and stepped back. Tsume and the others began to relax, but then they noticed his gaze falling on the children. "But I must pay you back for killing one of my men!" Elliot ran for the children.

"Damn it! We can't make it in time!" Tsume said as he darted toward his friend in an attempt to make it.

Elliot was just about to the children. He could already feel his fangs ripping into their flesh. He was about to dig his fangs into the neck of the girl when one of the humans that had come with Tsume stepped into his path.

Elliot clamped his jaw down on the fragile neck of the man and tasted the blood as it gushed into his mouth. He quickly jumped off as Tsume reached them and snapped at Elliot.

Tsume caught Hom as he sank to the ground. "Hom!" Jake and Oz were at his side in a matter of seconds.

Tsume knew there wasn't much time before his friend was gone. He should know. Hige died of this very same wound in the world before this.

Elliot's laugh drew Tsume's attention and he gently passed Hom to Jake. "You guys watch over him."

Kiba put a hand on Tsume's shoulder to let him know he had both his and Hige's support. Tsume was glad they were there.

"Oh, sorry about that. I forget humans are so fragile." Elliot taunted.

Tsume was about to attack when Kiba spoke up. "Why are you targeting Tsume?"

Elliot smirked as he straightened his leather jacket. "That's easy. It's because he thinks he can be better than me. He became the leader of the East and within just a month after that I began hearing rumors about him and his strength and that he 'saves' people and 'helps' them. So I decided to look into it. Imagine my surprise when I found out you were a wolf." Elliot began to pace. "I was completely disgusted. A wolf had actually befriended the humans. I couldn't believe it. That's when I decided I'd just teach you how wolves should treat humans and that's as tools or food. That's it."

Tsume growled at the man. How dare he kill Hom purely to get at him. Tsume was getting ready to attack the pompous jackass standing a few feet in front of him when Elliot turn on his heels and took off laughing like a maniac.

Tsume was about to give chase when he heard Pip-Squeak crying. He turned to see Jake, Oz, and the kids all standing around Hom. Tsume bit his lip. "Hey, Oz, take the kids back to the warehouse."

Oz nodded. "Right, Boss." Oz took Pip-Squeak's hand and pulled her away from Hom. "You come to, Zeek." Zeek clenched his hands into fists and followed Oz.

Tsume sat down next to Hom. His head was lying on Jake's lap. "How's he doing?"

Jake looked up at Tsume. "He's holding on, but I'm not sure how much longer he'll be able to." Tsume could see that Jake was putting on a strong front, but his voice betrayed him and carried his emotions.

Tsume bent down. "Hey there, Hom."

Hom smiled weakly, the light in his eyes fading. "H-Hey, Boss. I-I don't think I'll be going back with you guys."

Tsume shook his head. "No, I don't think you will."

"Ha, and t-tonight was ribs... That's my favorite..." Hom's eyes closed and his chest went still. Tsume bit his lip and stood up.

Hige rubbed the back of his head. "You ok, Tsume?"

He nodded and turned to Jake. "Go home and tell the others. Then rest up, alright?"

Jake jumped to his feet. "Wait, Boss! What about you?"

Tsume smiled and ruffled Jake's hair. "I need to talk to my friends here."

Jake nodded and looked at Hom one more time before he took off in the direction of the warehouse.

Tsume turned his attention to Kiba and Hige. "Never thought we'd all be together again."

Hige smiled. "I know right. We're only missing one of us."

Kiba nodded. "We need to find Toboe."

Tsume stepped back. "Wait, why do we need the pack together again?"

Hige sighed. "I wondered the same thing. Kiba here thinks that this is a fake paradise due to Darica's interference with our portal, or something like that anyway."

Tsume thought about it. This would make sense. This place wasn't anything like how he thought Paradise would be. "So you guys want to go in search of Paradise again?"

Kiba nodded. "We have to. We can't survive in this world. It's over populated with humans and we'll just get pushed to extinction like in the last world."

Tsume couldn't argue with that. Kiba was a smart kid and had good instincts, but he had people relying on him. How was he supposed to just leave them? Kiba seemed to sense Tsume's problem. "They'll be fine Tsume. They seem close and will lean on each other when needed. That human," Kiba gestured to Hom, "proves it."

Tsume ran a hand through his hair. Once again Kiba was right, but he sure would miss hanging out with these East Gang members. "Alright, I'm in. I was getting tired of the city air anyway. So where's the runt?"

"Don't know." Hige shrugged.

"Well, I guess we need to go searching for him." Tsume stretched.

Kiba nodded and the three went off in search of the final member of their pack.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Runt, Toboe**

Toboe laid out enjoying the sun, his tail slowly swinging back and forth. Ichi had just mowed the lawn and Toboe couldn't help but enjoy the smell of the freshly cut grass. He had his head rested on his paws and was just about to drift into sleep when a little girl plopped down on his back waking him up. He looked up to see the three year old Negumi sitting on him. Her long brown hair was up in two pigtails.

"Go Okami!" Toboe felt happy as she called him by that name. It was the name her parents had given him when they found him. He also laughed at the irony since okami means wolf, but they just thought he was a dog and he liked it that way. He stood up and since the little girl was light it made it easy to carry her on his back.. He started to walk, making Negumi giggle. "Faster, Okami, Faster!"

The front door opened and Jenny stepped out and smiled at her daughter. "Negumi, you goofy little girl, what are you doing?"

"Playing with Okami, but he's being slow." Negumi pouted as Toboe walked up to Jenny, his tongue sticking out.

Jenny patted him on the head and then picked Negumi up. "Let's go inside. Daddy should be home soon and we should make a snack for him, don't you think?"

Negumi giggled and nodded. "Yeah!"

Jenny turned toward the tree that was next to the house. She could see Ichi's legs dangling from the tree. "Ichi! I've told you many times not to climb trees. You're going to fall and break something. Now, get down and take Okami for a walk." Jenny carried Negumi inside as Ichi jumped down and sighed.

Ichi was twelve and looked just like his father, Haru. He had short curly black hair with dark eyes. He was a bit of a trouble maker and tended to get hurt a lot. Jenny says he acts just like Haru used to.

Ichi ran inside and returned a moment later with the leash. "Come here, Okami." Toboe walked up to him and Ichi hooked the leash to the collar around his neck. "Let's go, boy."

Ichi tugged the leash and Toboe began to follow beside him. They walked side by side in silence for a while when Ichi began to talk to Toboe.

"Okami, do you think I'm causing trouble for my mom?" Ichi's grip on the leash tightened.

Toboe's ears twitched at the hurt in Ichi's voice. He nudged Ichi's hand, which earned him a pat on the head.

"I heard Mom and Dad talking the other night. Mom was telling Dad about how the neighbors were giving them a lot of complaints about me because I'm too loud and reckless. Mom seemed really upset about it." Ichi looked sad. "Do you think they regret having me? I mean, I'm not good at anything other than causing them trouble."

Toboe wasn't sure what to do to make Ichi feel better so he nudged his arm. Ichi smiled and bent down and hugged Toboe. "You think I'm overthinking this?" Toboe nodded then licked the side of Ichi's face. Ichi laughed. "Alright, boy, let's go." Ichi got up and then continued walking.

Elliot walked down the sidewalk passing the humans and gritting his teeth. He couldn't get his mind off that idiot Tsume. How dare he try to take his place! Elliot was the strongest and the fastest. Not to mention smartest. They didn't stand a chance. The only reason they won that last time was because he wasn't expecting two others to show up.

"Those stupid wolves," he muttered to himself. He smiled as he thought about what he had heard them say. They said they were looking for another member of their pack. They had referred to him as 'Runt'. He just needed to find this guy before Tsume and the others and he'd have the upper hand again.

Elliot slid his hands into his pocket, wrapping his left hand tightly around the claw that rested in his pocket. The claw had belonged to his father who had lost it during a fight a few days before Elliot had been born. His father was the leader of the pack he was born into. The pack respected his father and did as he told them without question.

Unfortunately, their little pack lived in an area that the humans wanted to develop on and sent out hunters to kill the wolves in the area to make it more inhabitable. Their pack consisted of six males including his father, four females, and five pups; two were female and the rest were male. Elliot could remember playing happily with his brothers and sisters on the day the hunters came. They had set fire to the forest. His clan had gotten trapped against some large rocks and the flames. Elliot's father had shoved Elliot and his youngest sister, who had been the runt of the litter, into a crack between two of the rocks urging them forward. His father was about to send more of the pups when the fire surged forward, blocking the entrance and swallowing their younger brother in flames.

Elliot and his sister crawled through the crack to the other side and survived the fire, but they soon got separated when the hunters found them. He didn't know if his little sister was still alive or not. If she was, she'd be about 17, same as him.

Elliot's grip on the claw tightened as he recalled the event. He was so focused he almost didn't notice the small red wolf walking with a black haired human child. He stopped dead in his tracks. The wolf looked tiny and young, possibly just a pup still. Then the thought crossed his mind. What if this was Runt; the wolf companion of Tsume?

A smile slowly spread a crossed his face as he turned toward the few members that had been following him as his guards. He motioned for them to come close and began to whisper. "See that little brat with the dog? We're gonna jump them. Tiki and Yamada you take the back side of the alley. Rai and Korhu you block the front after I get them in the alley." The four guards nodded as they headed for their posts. They had done this kind of thing many times and were now quite skilled at it.

The human child smiled and talked to the small wolf walking beside him. It made Elliot sick to see that a wolf would so willingly befriend and become the pet to one of the humans. He picked up his pace a little, quickly closing the gap between him and the boy. Elliot skillfully pick-pocketed the cell phone from the boy's jacket pocket as he paced him. He turned and smiled at the boy waving the phone at him.

"Hey! Thief, give that back!" Toboe felt the leash go limp and turned to see Ichi dashing into an alley and he quickly followed. He found Ichi standing face to face with two humans who looked like they had been working out since the day they were born and a wolf that stood in human form. Toboe quickly got between Ichi and the other wolf, baring his fangs at him.

"Good, the main guest has arrived." The tall blond smirked. "I'm Elliot."

Ichi stared confused. "What are you talking about? Why are you after me?"

Elliot quickly glared at Ichi, making him take a few steps back in fear. Toboe continued to growl. "You are not the one I want, human child! I'm here for the wolf."

Ichi was still confused. "That's not a wolf, he's a dog! Plus, why are you after an animal anyway?"

Elliot ignored him and turned him gaze back on the small red wolf. His fur was sticking straight up and his fangs were showing. "Please calm down there, Runt."

Toboe paused, his guard dropping a little bit at the mention of the nickname his friends had given him. How had he known about that name? Was he friends with Tsume and the others? Did he know where they were? So many questions were buzzing around in his head. Elliot used the opportunity to motion for Rai to quickly grab Ichi.

"Hey, let go of me you big lug!" Toboe quickly turned around to see Ichi getting grabbed by his arm and yanked back quite roughly. He was about to attack the human who had dared put his hands on Ichi when Elliot quickly pinned Toboe to the ground with all his weight, making it a little difficult to breathe.

"Come on now, we're all friends here. We can get along. Why don't you turn into your human form so we can have ourselves a nice civilized conversation?" Elliot pushed down a little harder as Toboe quickly responded with a growl. "Oh, I see, so you don't care what happens to the brat then?"

Ichi yelped as Rai almost lifted him off the ground by his hair. Toboe gritted his teeth then closed his eyes and let out a long relaxing breath and took his human form of a boy with chin length reddish brown hair and light brown eyes. He wore a red button-up long sleeved shirt and green cargo pants.

Toboe could hear Ichi gasp in shock, but was too afraid to look. Toboe had had a human friend find out about him and she had shunned him and told him there was something wrong with him. He wouldn't be able to bare it if Ichi did the same.

Elliot slowly got up, releasing Toboe, who stood up keeping his gaze on the ground. "Good. Now I would like it if you would come with me, little Runt."

Toboe clenched his fists and looked up at Elliot. "I will go with you on two conditions. The first being that you let Ichi go."

Elliot nodded. "That's reasonable. What's the second condition? Not that it matters since you'll be coming with me either way." The confidence oozing off this guy made Toboe want to knock him down a peg or two.

"The second is that I want you to tell me how you knew my nickname."

Elliot looked at him slightly confused. "Nickname? Runt isn't your real name?"

Toboe shook his head. "It's Toboe. Runt is the nickname the others of my pack gave me. Have you met them before? One is grey he has an X shaped scar on his chest, another has fur white as snow, and the third has light brown fur and a bottomless stomach."

Elliot could feel the anger rising inside him as he recalled the group of wolves the kid was describing. "Yes, we had a bit of a fight. Can't say I was impressed with their fighting skills."

Toboe felt his stomach turn. Had this pompous jerk actually fought and beat the others? No! That just wasn't possible. "Ok," Toboe looked down, "I'll go with you now."

"No, Okami! Don't go with them." Toboe was surprised by Ichi's sudden outburst. "I'm not sure what's going on and why you suddenly look like a human, but you're my dog! You're part of our family!"

Toboe could feel his eyes watering up. This was the first time a human had found out about him and accepted him, but he couldn't let Ichi get involved with this man. Toboe gritted his teeth and turned to face Ichi. "Ichi, I'm a wolf, not a dog. I played the part of a dog because you fed me and nursed me back to health when I needed it. I used you and never considered myself as part of your family." Toboe could feel his heart breaking as he spoke these words. "Just leave. I'm better off with my own kind anyway."

Ichi stared speechless for a moment and then clenched his hands into fists and turned and ran out of the alley. Toboe let out a sigh of relief.

"Awe, wasn't that cute." Toboe took a step back as Elliot's expression changed to something much colder than before. Toboe was suddenly filled with fear. He tried to back way more but found his back to the wall and Elliot only an inch from his face. "You should have ran when you had the chance."


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Alright, this AN is to clarify something I had mentioned in the AN at the beginning of chapter 2. When I said I was debating on the relationship between Tsume and Toboe being lover or brother like, if it were lover I just want to make sure you guys know it'd be nothing but fluff. Nothing against lemons and those who read/write it, it's just that I can't write it nor would I be interested in trying. I apologize.

Also has anyone else put the connection between Blue being reincarnated as the cat you see Toboe playing with in the last episode. I have just found this out recently and was disappointed in myself. How dare I call myself a Wolf's Rain fan, right? XP Oh well can't "Catch'em all", right? OMG! I'm sorry that's a bad joke, haha.

Anywho, please enjoy chapter 5. I'm sorry it is so terribly short T_T but I couldn't figure out how to make it longer.

Chapter 5: The Lure

Kiba, Hige, and Tsume walked down the sidewalk. Hige was sniffing around, since he had the strongest sense of smell, trying to find Toboe. It had been two days since the whole Elliot thing had happened and they spent the entire time searching for Toboe.

"Hey, Porky, got anything yet?" Tsume asked impatiently.

Hige sighed. "If I did, don't you think I would have said something?" Tsume and Hige were glaring at each other and getting into each other's faces.

Kiba sighed. It was just like old times, but by now Toboe would have interfered in the fight and told them to calm down and they would listen. Toboe had a way of calming the anger in people, which is probably why he got along with Tsume so well.

Tsume had Hige by the front of his shirt when a small black haired kid went running by them at full speed. Hige was about to counter one of Tsume's insults but stopped as he picked up a familiar scent coming from the boy. "Hey! That kid! He has Toboe's scent on him and it's strong!"

Tsume quickly released Hige and the three quickly followed the kid. He ran the whole way and looked very panicked. Tsume didn't like the looks of that. The kid darted across the street toward a tall Victorian-like house. A woman was sitting in the yard playing with a little girl with long brown hair that was up in two ponytails. The woman stood up as she saw the boy run into the yard.

Kiba and the others stopped on the other side of the road, knowing that their hearing would easily let them hear what they were saying.

"Mom! Mom!" The boy ran to the woman.

"Calm down Ichi, what's wrong and where's Okami?" The woman looked around with concern.

"Some tall blond guy came and told him to go with him and then Okami turned into a human! He looked a little older than me and he said something about his name actually being Toboe. Mom, we have to go back and get him!" The boy, Ichi, looked at his mother with pleading eyes, but she merely shook her head.

"I'm getting tired of these lies, Ichi. I mean if you're going to lie, at least make it believable. Now go inside."

"But-"

"Go. Inside. Now." The woman pointed to the door and the boy quickly disappeared into the house.

Tsume couldn't believe what he had just heard. The tall blond guy the kid had mentioned had to be Elliot and that meant he had Toboe. Tsume looked at Hige and Kiba and he could tell they had come to the same conclusion, but before they could figure out what to do, they heard something that made their blood run cold. Toboe's howl.

Toboe quickly turned into his wolf form, ready to fight Elliot who transformed soon after Toboe. Toboe had expected the other humans to freak out and run away, but they just smiled and watched. Toboe turned his attention to Elliot. His fur was a beautiful light brown color, almost like sand. He looked strong. Toboe knew his chances of winning were slim, but he'd rather die trying than give up.

Elliot took a step toward Toboe and Toboe lunged at him with his fangs bared and ready to bite, but Elliot was fast and quickly moved to the side and that's when he noticed the larger of the four humans with Elliot had jumped at him. Toboe was about to attack, but stopped mid-jump when he realized he was about to attack a human and an image of Quient flashed in his mind. The human easily tackled Toboe to the ground, taking hold of the leash Ichi had left connected to his collar.

The human wrapped the leash around his neck to help keep Toboe from moving. "This guy's kind of strong boss. He's quite the squirmer."

"Just hold him down." Elliot growled. "I need him to send out a calling card to our friends." He walked up to Toboe who was trying his best to get free. "Don't worry, it'll hurt, but it won't kill you."

Toboe's heart felt like it was going to explode. It was pounding so hard. Elliot stood over him, his fangs bared and he bit down just above Toboe's shoulder and just below the base of his neck. Pain shot through Toboe and he let out a howl of pain that echoed through the alley and carried far into the wind.

Elliot pulled away with blood dripping from his mouth. "That should do just fine. Pick him up boys. He shouldn't be able to put up much of a fight in that condition."

Tiki and Yamada picked Toboe up as Elliot took his human form and spat out some of Toboe's blood. "His filthy lowlife blood is in my mouth!" His voice dripped with venomous hatred as he led the way to where they would finally put an end to Tsume. He smirked at the thought. "Come, Tsume. I have a little surprise for you."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: OK randomness, but you know the song I Want Crazy by Hunter Hayes? Well I was listening to it and when the line "The world makes all kind of rules for love, I say you gotta let it do what it does" came up the first thing that came into my mind at those words was Yaoi, or boyxboy. Now I just want to say I don't obsess over it, but I don't mind reading/watching it to a certain degree. I'm a strong believer in love is love it doesn't matter whether it's between a man and a women, two men, or two woman! Personally I like guys. I have a boyfriend and I love him, but I don't think it's wrong to have love between two people of the same sex! I apologized for this random rant, but it's something that bugs me.**

**I have also decided to just flip a coin and leave it to the universe to find out what kind of relationship there will be between Toboe and Tsume. Head = Brother; Tails = Lover. *Flips coin* The universe had chosen….. *drum roll*… Tails!**

**Anywho, please enjoy chapter 6! ^_^**

**Chapter 6: The Cave**

Tsume was the first of the group to arrive at the alley where they had heard Toboe's painful howl. His blood ran cold as he stared at the red stain on the ground. He knew that scent. It was Toboe's blood! Tsume felt the anger rising inside him. Elliot was going to pay for hurting Toboe.

Hige walked up to the stain and sniffed it. "Yup, this is definitely the runt's blood, but why is the scent of humans mixed in?" Hige looked back and almost jump as he saw Tsume's face twisted with anger. "Holly shit, Tsume! Calm down, it's only blood and it's not even a lot."

Kiba walked past Tsume, patting his should as he walked by. "There's a trail." He pointed at the drops of blood leading down the alley. "Let's go." Kiba took off in a run with Tsume and Hige followed.

Tsume couldn't keep his mind off of Toboe as the followed the blood and Toboe's scent. He remembered when he first met the kid. That old human bastard Quient had his gun pointed at him and was about to fire, but Tsume jumped down and knocked the gun away and he and Toboe ran off. Tsume still couldn't figure out what possessed him to save a little pup he didn't even know, but the kid had a strange effect on him and the thought of never seeing Toboe again scared him more than he'd like to admit.

Hige ran behind Tsume and quickly noticed he was much tenser than he was before. He was worried about the runt too, but he was surprised to find Tsume so on edge about it. Though he realized that he shouldn't be. Tsume was devastated when they had found Toboe's dead body with a bullet wound in his back in the previous world. Tsume howled in honor of Toboe. Kiba, Hige, and Blue, a half breed that Hige had fallen for, quickly followed in suit. When the time came for them to continue on and catch up with Darcia and go to Paradise, Tsume couldn't bring himself to leave the runt's side yet. Tsume had to ask them to go ahead without him and that he'd catch up.

The memory was sad and always left Hige with a bad taste in his mouth. He didn't know if Blue was able to cross over as well or if she was denied because she was a half breed. He had searched for her and that was also part of why he had joined the dog catchers and the pound. He'd then be able to keep an eye out for Blue if she ever got caught, but instead he ran into Kiba the same way he had hoped to meet Blue.

They were near the edge of the city and the blood was becoming more and more frequent, and Toboe's scent was becoming stronger as well. They were close. Tsume could feel it.

Toboe woke up to a boot crushed into his side. His vision was blurry and he found it hard to move his head too much. Elliot was standing over him with a smirk. "Rise and shine." Toboe managed a growl, but that only got him another kick. "Watch it, pup!" Elliot turned on his heels and Toboe began to look around. Everything was dark and damp. The floor seemed to be stone just like the walls and since light only came from one direction he figured he was in a cave somewhere.

He turned to his human form, finding it more comfortable with his wound. Toboe sat with his back against the cave wall. He felt something warm run down his arm and looked over to find his wound had reopened. _Great,_ he thought putting a hand on his wound to help stop the bleeding.

Elliot stood leaning against the wall opposite of Toboe. They stared each other down. "Why'd you bring me here?"

Elliot smiled. "You're my bait." He pushed off from the wall and crouched down in front of Toboe, keeping his face just inches from Toboe's. "You'll be the down fall of your friends."

"You think they'd fall for something as stupid as that. Plus, Tsume's not the kind of guy to throw his life away for a friend. If he finds someone to be a hindrance to him and his goal he'll abandon them no problem." Toboe knew he was exaggerating a little bit, but he just really wanted to get under this guy's skin. His smug face was annoying.

Elliot smiled. "If that's so, why are they just a few minutes away?"

Toboe felt his blood run cold. Why had they come for him? Kiba's smart enough to know this was a trap. So why?

Elliot stood up as Kiba, Hige, and Tsume ran into the cave. Tsume's eyes instantly went to Toboe. He felt so relieved that Toboe was alive. His relief was quickly replaced with anger as Elliot slammed his foot down on Toboe's wounded shoulder, causing the boy to yelp.

"You guys sure are slow." Elliot taunted.

Kiba's eyes narrowed on Elliot. He wasn't going to stand for someone hurting a member of his pack. "Why'd you go after Toboe?"

Elliot laughed. "It wasn't planned. I saw him walking at the end of a leash." He reached down and grabbed the leash that was still connected to his collar and tugged it making Toboe wince. "I mean, he was actually the pet to a human. That's just disgusting!" Tsume ran at Elliot, but stopped at the sound of Toboe's scream. Elliot had twisted the heel of his shoe into Toboe's wound. "Now, now, Tsume, we wouldn't want the kid to die, now would we?"

Tsume gritted his teeth as Kiba and Hige walked up to stand next to him. "What kind of sick-o takes a kid hostage?" Hige scratched his head. "I mean, is it a fetish thing, 'cause if so that's just messed up."

Elliot's face flared red. "Don't make fun of me."

"Haha!" Elliot looked down at Toboe who had laughed. Toboe had on a big smile and was still laughing. "You guys! Oh, I've missed you guys. Hige still speaks what's on his mind." Toboe's good mood only angered Elliot. He took his foot of Toboe's shoulder and yanked on the leash making Toboe fall forward with his face to the floor.

"Stop laughing! Do you even understand your situation?" He kicked Toboe in the side making him yelp again. Tsume's fists were clenched so tightly he was bleeding.

Toboe laughed weakly, wincing as he did so. "You don't seriously believe you're going to beat them, do you?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Elliot asked smugly.

"We're stronger and more stubborn than you give us credit for." Toboe grabbed onto Elliot's leg, causing pain to shoot through his shoulder. Elliot didn't have time to react before Tsume had transformed to his wolf form and tackled Elliot to the ground, pining him with his claws.

"Get off me you filthy mongrel!" Elliot growled as he transformed to his wolf form and the two rolled clawing at each other before breaking apart. Kiba and Hige were quickly in wolf form and circling Elliot.

"Give it up, Elliot!" Kiba snarled, his fangs bared. "You're no match for three of us!"

Elliot slowly relaxed and sighed. "You're right. That would be the smart idea here."

Hige's eyes narrowed on Elliot. This is exactly what had happened last time. They thought he was going to surrender and then attacked. From how tense Kiba and Tsume were, Hige could assume they felt the same. Hige's head suddenly snapped toward the front of the cave. He could smell a human. He was about to warn the others when a small round black thing rolled in and exploded, causing black smoke to fill the small space.

They began coughing while Elliot began laughing. They finally found each other just as the sound of Elliot's laughter started fading toward the front of the cave. They were about to take off after him when they heard Toboe's coughing.

"Toboe?" Kiba called.

"K-Kiba, I'm over here!" Toboe answered back.

They stayed close so they wouldn't lose each other and started toward Toboe's voice. "Hey, Runt, keep talking," Hige demanded, but only received silence as an answer.

"Toboe?" Tsume called getting worried. No answer. "Toboe!"

Tsume took off in the direction they had last heard his voice and found Toboe passed out in his human form. His shoulder had been torn into and blood soaked the front of the kid's shirt. Tsume quickly turned to his human form and pick Toboe up gently as Kiba and Hige caught up. "He needs help!"

Kiba nodded and they slowly worked their way through the smoke and to the front of the cave. After several minutes of searching, they found the exit and stepped out into the fresh air. The sun had begun to set. They quickly disappeared into the forest that separated the cave from the city. Tsume held Toboe's limp body tightly to his chest. "You better live kid," Tsume demanded under his breath as they busted out of the forest and into the city once again.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: The fluff of this chapter is dedicated to a friend of mine who really wanted to see it. I hope she and the rest of you enjoy chapter 7. ^_^**

**PS: Also I know it's a little late but I just want to make sure I put out there that this is purely for amusement and others who share a love of this anime or of wolves or whatever. I am in no way profiting from this story nor do I own the anime or the characters. Thank you and good day to you.**

**Chapter 7: Vet Visit**

Toboe's breathing was short and shallow as they stopped under an awning of a bookstore. It was now dark outside and it had begun to rain. Tsume continued to hold Toboe tightly to his chest. The kid felt so frail and weak in his arms. "What are we going to do? Toboe needs help."

Kiba walked over and looked at Toboe. Blood had soaked his shirt and he was covered in bruises and cuts. "He's lost a lot of blood."

Tsume felt anger fill his chest. "No fucking duh! He had a pretty decent amount of his shoulder ripped out! Of course he's going to lose a lot of blood!" Tsume didn't mean to respond that way. His emotions just took over. Kiba remained silent knowing Tsume wasn't really angry with him, but with Toboe's condition.

"Hey." Hige interrupted. "I know someone who could help us out. She's a vet at the place I was working at. She's really indifferent and kind of weird so I don't think she'll freak out about our situation too much."

Kiba nodded. "Lead the way Hige." Hige led them down through the streets and to the pound where Kiba and Hige had first met. He looked in through the window of the vet part of the building. The light was still on inside but the door was locked already. Hige knocked on the window, but didn't see any movement. He knocked harder on the window. "Hello!" He waited a moment and saw a shadow move in front of the light from another room as the vet came out. She saw Hige and yawned as she opened the door.

"Hige? What are you doing here?" The woman's hair was chin length and her bangs were pinned back.

Hige pushed passed her followed by Kiba and Tsume. They were all soaking wet. "I have a lot to explain and little time to do it. Tsume, put Toboe down on the table and try to get him to wake up long enough to change his form."

Toboe did as Hige suggested and shook Toboe gently. "Toboe. Toboe, wake up."

Toboe's eyes slowly opened and he looked at Tsume weakly. "Hey…" He winced as pain shot through his shoulder.

Tsume bit his lip. "We're at a veterinarian hospital and we need you to change into your wolf form. Can you manage it?"

"I think so." Toboe closed his eyes and focused, slowly turning to his wolf form. Tsume's eyes widened as he was able to get a closer look at the wound. It was deeper than he had originally thought.

Kiba watched the woman carefully in case she showed any sign of becoming a threat. Humans didn't usually react well to their kind, but this woman just stood there yawning like it was a normal day at the office. Kiba tapped Hige's arm. "Who is this woman?"

"Oh, right," Hige gestured to the woman. "This is Dr. Hiwajima. She's the old lady who let me stay here."

Dr. Hiwajima wacked Hige on the back of the head making him yelp. "Who's old? I'm only 28."

Hige smiled as he rubbed the back of his head. "That's 10 years older than me."

Kiba looked at Hige surprised. "You're 18?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing, it's just that makes you a year older than me. I guess I always assumed I was either the same age as you or older." Kiba turned his attention to the doctor. "Can you help our friend? I'm afraid we can't pay you."

Dr. Hiwajima waved it aside. "I'll take Hige's help here as payment." She walked over and turned on the lamp that hung over the table. She pulled on gloves and started examining the wound. Blood had already begun to pool on the table. "Hige, will you bring me some anesthetics?"

Hige ran a hand through his hair and went to the other room, grabbing an IV pole and bag along with the drugs.

She took it and quickly set it up and hooked Toboe to the IV and started tending to the wound. After an hour she told Kiba, Hige, and Tsume that they could use the other room to get some rest. It didn't take long before Hige had disappeared into the room and soon after that was Kiba. Tsume insisted on staying next to Toboe. He leaned against the wall, feeling the sleep just begging him to close his eyes. His head softy hit the wall as he fell asleep.

Dr. Hiwajima stopped what she was doing, took off her gloves and walked over to Tsume. She stared at him as he slept. He had actually fallen asleep standing. She slowly reached her hand up and was just about to poke his face when his eyes flew open and he quickly grabbed her wrist. "What are you doing?"

"You fell asleep," she stated as if he was unaware.

"I know, but that doesn't tell me what you were doing." He released her hand and pushed off the wall, stepping up to the table and staring down at Toboe as he slept.

"You fell asleep standing up. It intrigued me." She shrugged it off like it was no big deal.

"Yeah, well, should you be working on him?" Tsume pointed at Toboe.

She shook her head. "I finished stitching his wounds. All I was doing before was cleaning the wound from his fur."

Tsume let out a sigh of relief and before he knew what he was doing he found himself running his hand over Toboe's soft fur. His body was so small and thin. He was still just a pup, only 13. Tsume noticed the doctor watching him and stopped, putting his hand awkwardly at his side. "What?"

She smiled. "Oh, nothing. So, is he your brother or something?" She grabbed a wet rag and continued cleaning Toboe's fur.

Tsume blushed a little. "No! Do we even look the least bit similar? Plus we're both different species of wolf. I'm a Grey Wolf and the kid here is a Red Wolf."

"Oh? What are the others?"

"Kiba, the almighty leader, is an Artic Wolf and the bottomless pit, Hige, is a Mexican Wolf." Tsume chuckled. "One hell of a pack, right?"

Dr. Hiwajima paused for a moment to soak the rag again and then continued to clean out the blood. "I think you're lucky. There are a lot of people out there who can't seem to find a place to belong." She smiled warmly at Tsume. "You seem to have found your place," she said motioning toward Toboe.

Tsume's face flared. "W-Wait! I don't know what it is you think is going on here, but-"

She laughed and put the rag down. "Look, it's late. I'm going to go to the other room and catch some z's. Yell if something happens." She disappeared around the corner before Tsume could object.

"Women," Tsume huffed as he pulled a chair up next to the table Toboe was lying on. He couldn't believe that woman actually thought there was something between them. The only thing he felt toward the runt was annoyance that he always seemed to be getting hurt or pushing himself. Then again, weren't those also his admirable qualities as well? The kid was determined to find Paradise and to protect those he cares about.

Tsume remembered the time they were crossing the ice flow in the previous world and they got attacked by a walrus. It was strong and had managed to wound Kiba and was about to kill him when Toboe suddenly snapped and attacked the walrus' eye. He clung onto as the walrus thrashed about trying to get the young wolf off his eye. The walrus even crashed through the ice. Tsume, Hige, and Kiba stood staring in shock as the walrus disappeared into the water with Toboe. They waited for him to resurface, but it took too long. They had begun to worry when the walrus crashed back through the ice finally freeing his eye of the small pup. The walrus soon died of blood loss. Toboe had defeated it single handily.

Toboe stirred in his sleep, his eyes slowly opening. "Tsume?"

Tsume felt the urge to smile, but made sure to keep a straight face. "About time you woke up, Runt."

Toboe chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry. Did I worry you?"

Tsume mentally slapped himself. _Great,_ he thought, _make the kid feel worse than he already does. That's always a good idea!_ He sighed and patted Toboe on the head. "Don't worry about it, just rest."

Toboe snuggled up to Tsume's hand making Tsume pull his hand away. "Please?" Toboe looked at Tsume with pleading eyes. "You're warm…"

Tsume growled and turned into his wolf from and jumped on the table lying next to Toboe. He closed his eyes to sleep, but woke up as he felt Toboe snuggling up to him. Tsume gave a small smile and drifted into sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Ok. I am super sorry this is taking so long. My internet is currently down and I'm struggling at getting it back up and that is why I haven't been able to post anything new for like the past week or so. I hope you can forgive me.**

**Also thanks to ****wolfwarriors ****for being the first to favorite and follow this story. It really boosted my moral on this story. I was getting nervous, but now I am inspired to write. So on that note its 10:02 am and I'm yawning. Time to pull out the caffeine! Whoo! **

**Also I apologize I'm posting this chapter before my beta reader has had a chance to read through it and make corrections. Just giving a heads up. Hope you guys enjoy chapter 8 ^_^**

**Chapter 8: Leaving The City**

"Well shit, Kiba." Tsume instantly woke up to find Hige and Kiba standing in front of him. "Looks like the big bad Tsume isn't so bad." Tsume was confused by what Hige meant when he felt movement next to him. The runt was curled up right up against him with his head resting on Tsume's stomach. Tsume used all four paws to push the runt off the table.

"Ow! What the hell Tsume?" Toboe sat on the ground looking up confused and a bit upset.

"Don't cuddle up to me," Tsume growled down at the pup as he took his human form. "I hate how friendly you people are." He quickly stepped outside into the fresh morning air. He wasn't sure what had possessed him to sleep next to the kid, but it was something that he wasn't going to do again.

"What's his problem?" Hige asked. He looked down at Toboe who was obviously upset by Tsume's words. "Don't worry about it kid. He probably just woke up on the wrong side of the operation table."

Toboe giggled at Hige's attempt to cheer him up. "Thanks Hige." He winced as pain still lingered in his shoulder.

Kiba bent down to be on eye level with the wolf pup. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, just a bit sore is all." Toboe stretch and sat back down his tail wagging playfully. "What's going on? How'd I get here?"

"Tsume carried you here," Kiba explained. "Hige's friend, Dr. Hiwajima, stitched you up. I'm not sure how well the stiches will hold if you change to your human form so for now just stay as you are, alright?" Toboe nodded. "Good then let's get going."

Toboe stood up and trotted up alongside Kiba. "Where are we going?"

"Paradise." Kiba kept walking as Toboe stopped. He looked back at Hige who only shrugged.

"Long story short, Darcia has managed to screw us from beyond the grave." Hige patted Toboe on the head. "Now, be a good little doggy and follow us." Hige mocked using a baby voice.

Toboe growled. "I'll show you 'good little doggy'!" He darted at Hige who laughed and turned into his wolf form and ran outside. Toboe laughed as he chased Hige. It was just like it used to be. His thoughts were scattered by the throbbing in his shoulder he skidded to a stop and started limping. Hige instantly stopped and hurried to Toboe's side.

"You ok Runt?" Hige sniffed around to make sure the wound hadn't reopened.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He limped back toward to vet clinic where Tsume was leaning against the wall by the door. He glowered at Hige as he noticed Toboe's limp.

"Don't glare at me." Hige backed up defensively, taking his human form. "Toboe was the one who started chasing me first."

Tsume's eye's went straight to Toboe, but Toboe wasn't going to back down. Tsume had brushed him aside with no problem this morning so why would he care now?

"You're not my dad so don't act like you are." Toboe sat down several feet away from Tsume. Hige gave Kiba a concerned glance but Kiba just shrugged it off.

"Let's go." Kiba pushed off the wall and began walking down the street. Hige and Toboe followed with Tsume bring up the rear. They weren't too worried about Toboe being found out. People would just continue to view him as a dog like they always had.

"Kiba! The runt needs another break!" Hige called up to Kiba who was starting to get too far ahead. He watched as Kiba turned and jogged back.

"I'm fine," Toboe said between gasps of air. His tongue hung out as he all but collapsed on the grounf for a break.

"Oh, yeah, you're just dandy." Hige teased earning him a slap on the back of the head from Tsume. "What the hell?" Tsume just looked the other way not responding.

Toboe winced. The pain killers were starting to wear off and the pain was slowly getting worse. He felt like his shoulder was on fire. He must have groaned or something cause when he looked up he found everyone looking at him worryingly. "Don't worry guys. I'm just fine." He stood up. "Let's keep going."

Kiba nodded and they began walking again. Tsume kept his eye on Toboe and noticed his limp was getting worse and worse the further they walked. They were just about to the city limits and it wasn't even noon yet which means they'll be traveling through the forest here soon and wasn't sure if the kid would be able to handle that. He shook his head. Why should be care? If the runt collapsed due to his own weakness than that has nothing to do with him. But why did he still find himself worrying about Toboe. Maybe he should start putting distance between them. _Whatever,_ he thought.

Hige looked up at Kiba. He was getting ahead of them again. He wanted to ask why he was in such a hurry but he had a pretty good idea as to why. He hadn't been able to bring himself to ask about what had happened to Cheza and the fact she wasn't with Kiba confirmed what he had thought. She died opening the portal to Paradise.

Now the million dollar question was how Kiba was handling the fact she gave her life to open a portal to this fake paradise. Hige frowned. Kiba was as hard to read as a rock. He always remained cool and collected. Except when it came to Cheza, Kiba could really lose it.

Tsume suddenly passed by them taking the spot between them and Kiba. Something was bugging him, but Hige couldn't figure out what. One moment he's being on nice and friendly with Toboe then the next he shoves him away like he's the freaking plague or something.

Hige sighed. This was getting ridiculous. Kiba wasn't talking much about where they were going other than saying 'Paradise'. Hige would love to know exactly how Kiba planned on getting there. Without Cheza, the Flower Maiden, the gate to Paradise wasn't going to open. It was all really confusing.

He looked forward and saw Kiba and Tsume standing in front of the entrance to the forest. "Come on Toboe." He picked up his pace to catch up to them.

"Yeah, yeah," Toboe mumbled. If Hige thought he was going to move any faster than he already was than he was in for a big surprise. Toboe watched as they stood waiting for him. He felt guilty about slowing them down, but the pain was starting to be a little too much. He gritted his teeth and picked up the pace a bit.

Kiba felt a pang of guilt as he watched Toboe pick up his pace. He was obviously in a lot of pain. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe they should take another break before entering the forest, but before he had time to make a decision Toboe began to walk toward the forest.

"What are you guys waiting for? An invitation?" Toboe called back. Kiba looked at Hige who smiled and shrugged. Tsume was the first to follow Toboe, who was then followed by Kiba and Hige in the rear, but it didn't take more than 15 minutes before Toboe was in the back again. He kept telling them to continue going whenever they tried stopping to say they should stop for the night and rest up.

"The sun just starting set like an hour ago. Let's not waste the daylight." Toboe urged from behind.

Hige sighed and ran an aggravated hand through his hair. Everyone but Toboe was in their human form which normally would have put them at a disadvantage but even so they were easily out pacing Toboe. They stood at the stop of a slop waiting for the young wolf to catch up. "If we let him push himself like this the kid's gonna croak."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, but Toboe won't care. Being the youngest he doesn't want to feel like he's weighing us down. He'll keep pushing himself and I can't say I'm not impressed by his ability to handle pain."

"You got that right, the kid's got himself a nice pair of-" Hige stopped midsentence as he turned to look down the slop. "Um, guys." Kiba and Tsume looked toward where he was pointing. About half way up the slop the young red wolf had collapsed.

"Shit!" Tsume cursed as he followed Kiba and Hige down to Toboe.

Kiba was looking him over carefully. Toboe was panting heavy and his nose was dry and rough. "He's burning up."

"Ugh, are you serious? The runt has a fever." Hige threw his hands up in frustration. "That's great! This is why we should have forced the kid to stop and rest. He's not healed and his body can't handle this kind of stress.

Kiba carefully picked Toboe up. "Let's find some water for him. Hige smell anything?"

Hige turn his nose up and sniffed around a bit. "There's water northeast of here." He turned to inform them. Kiba nodded and headed northeast. Hige's eyes fell on Tsume. "How you holdin' up?"

Tsume snarled. "What's that mean?"

Hige sighed. "You need to get over yourself and learn to get close to people. You're being more distance than you were in the last world. At least there you talked."

"Che, whatever." Tsume pushed passed Hige and followed Kiba. Tsume knew he was being more distant and he was doing it on purpose. He didn't want to relive the pain of losing those close to him. First he lost his comrades and was exiled from his pack, then when he saw Toboe's body laying limply on the ground with a gaping hole in his back, Tsume thought he was going to lose it. The kid was the only reason he stuck with Kiba and Hige.

When Tsume had gone to catch up with the others after saying goodbye to Toboe he came across Hige who was sitting next to Blue. As he got closer Tsume noticed Blue wasn't breathing and blood was covering the front of Hige's shirt from a wound on his neck. Anyone could easily tell he wasn't going to make it. Hige pleaded with Tsume for him to finish him off and put him out of pain. Tsume did as his friend asked but to this day hasn't forgot the feeling of his fangs ripping into someone his considered a friend. Tsume felt worse every time he thought about it. _No wonder my pack exiled me, _he thought. _I shouldn't get close to others._

Tsume being lost in thought hadn't notice they had arrived at the edge of a stream until he felt water being splashed on him as Hige cannon balled into the water taking his wolf form mid jump. "Watch it, Porky!"

"Loosen up man and enjoy life." Hige stood up becoming still. He stared into the clear water and after a moment dug his head under water and coming up with a fish. He got out shaking the water off his fur then trotted over to Kiba who was trying to get Toboe to drink some water. "I caught a fish for him."

Kiba instantly stopped and looked up at Hige in amazement. Tsume ran up and put a hand to Hige's head. "You sick Porky? I mean you give up food to someone else. The world must be ending."

Hige rolled his eyes. "So I've matured nothing wrong with that.

Tsume laughed. "Matured? This coming from the guy who just cannonballed into the water?"

Hige shrugged it off and sat down putting his head on his paws. "It's getting late guys."

Kiba looked up. The sky was slowly getting darker. "We'll camp here until Toboe is better. Let's sleep for now." Kiba stashed the fish away. "He's not gonna be able to eat tonight anyway." Kiba then lay next to Toboe who was shivering.

Tsume on the other hand laid down a few feet away. He was going to make sure he didn't get any closer to these guys than he was. That he promised.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: So my computer decided to take a poop on me and is currently unavailable for service thus making typing my fanfic a little difficult so I'm sorry about the wait for this new chapter. I know where I want to go with the story but getting there's a different story. I've been staring at a blank page for a good ten minutes and I think the librarians are getting concerned and that is why I am typing this author's note, ha-ha. Anyway here's chapter 9.**

**Chapter 9: Recovery**

_He ran and ran but couldn't seem to get closer to the figure standing in front of him. "Tsume!" He called to his friend, but still no response. "Tsume, wait!" Suddenly the figure was gone and the pup found himself all alone._

'_What should I do?' He wondered. He began to look around when he heard a loud bang. His body went cold as Quient appeared before him blood dripping from the gunshot wound in his chest._

"_Why?" Quient asked stepping closer. "Why couldn't you save me? Why did I have to die? I wanted to live."_

_Toboe stumbled back in shock. Quient was dead, he knew that, and yet, right in front of him was no one other than the human he had died trying to save. Pain ripped through Toboe's back and chest. He looked down to see blood dripping from his chest. He staggered forward a little before falling to his knees._

'_What's happening?' He tried to speak, but the words wouldn't seem to come out. He looked up and saw Quient holding a shotgun, smoke trickling out of the barrel. Toboe realized what had happened and accepted his death. If this man, who he had failed to save, wanted him dead who was he to deny that? His eye's slowly closed and he let the pain swallow him._

"_..boe… Toboe…" His ear twitched as he heard a familiar voice calling his name, but, who was it?"_

They all surrounded the pup with concerned looks on their faces. Toboe had begun to whine in his sleep and was beginning to wince as if in pain. Kiba gently shook the injured pup. "Toboe, Toboe! Toboe, wake up!" The young pup's eyes slowly opened. "Toboe, are you ok?"

Toboe looked around confused and a little panicked then nodded. "I think so."

Hige gave Kiba a look that said he didn't believe Toboe. Kiba nodded back. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I guess," Toboe answered, standing on his feet a little wobbly. "I'm starving though."

Kiba smirked as he ruffled the young pup's fur. "We have plenty of fish and there's a lake over there."

"After you eat you should go down there and have a drink and wash up a little bit, alright?"

Toboe nodded and smiled as his eyes fell on Tsume. "Hey."

Tsume glared and turned his back on Toboe. Hige ran a hand down Toboe's back, flattening some of the hair that had been standing up. "Don't worry about him. He's been grouchy since you collapsed. The stuck up bastard has no idea how to treat the sick and wounded, I tell you."

"That's not true," Toboe snapped then looked down shyly. "I mean, when I was in the Vet Clinic he slept beside me when I was cold. He's a nice person."

Hige laughed. "Maybe to you, but to us he's nothing but a jerk."

Tsume turned and glared. "If that's the case why did you waste your time finding me, Porky?"

Hige stood, getting in Tsume's face. "Can't answer that, I just followed orders, though I wish I hadn't." Toboe winced at their words. Why couldn't they get along?

"Che," Tsume turned on his heels and walked toward the trees, "I don't need this. I'm outa here."

Toboe's eyes widened. "Wait, Tsume!" Toboe went to run after him but winced and fell as the stitches tore a little.

"Damn it, Runt, keep still." Hige bent down to help Toboe as Tsume continued to walk away.

"Stop… him… Hige..." Toboe managed between gasps before passing out once again.

"The kid's got spirit I'll give him that much." Hige stood to face Kiba. "Well, oh-fearless-leader, what do we do now?"

Kiba looked up as if the answer were in the sky. After a moment he sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. "We can't really go after Tsume with Toboe in this condition. I guess we stay put wait, for Toboe to recover, and then follow after Tsume."

"Why bother with that hot head?"

"Are you telling me you forgot what that 'hot head' did for you in the previous world? You should be more grateful." Kiba leaned against the tree now in his human form. He looked down and saw Toboe sleeping restlessly again. 'What was Toboe dreaming about that seemed to keep him in such a state of panic,' Kiba wondered.

Hige bent down, putting a hand on Toboe's head. "He still has a fever. If he gets any hotter he'll be cooked." Kiba frowned at Hige's poor attempt at humor. "OK, I get it, bad joke, but seriously, what should we do?"

Kiba walked up to the sleeping pup and gently picked him up. "Let's bring him over to the river and see if we can't get him to wake up long enough to drink some water and maybe take a bath to help him cool down."

"Alright."

They headed to the river and laid Toboe down near the edge. Hige splashed a little water onto Toboe's face. The pup awoke instantly. "Wh-what's going on?"

"Calm down there Runt. We just wanted to wake you up and get you to drink some water. You're hotter than Tsume's temper." Hige smiled a big goofy smile making Toboe chuckle. He bent his head down and managed a few drinks of water. "Feeling better?"

"A little bit, yeah," Toboe answered.

"Good," Kiba stepped up, "then you should rinse off in the water for a while." Toboe nodded and slowly stood up. "Do you need help getting into the water?"

Toboe shook his. "I think I'll be fine." Toboe put his first paw into the water and shivered at the cold water. The other three paws followed quickly. He made sure to stay in the shallow end knowing there was no way he could swim yet. "This feels nice."

"Yeah, smells nice to, man did you smell." Hige teased.

Toboe used his water to splash water at Hige who was about to do the same. "Don't fight with a wounded wolf." Kiba quickly advised as the scene unfolded. "Or do you want to be known as the guy who defeated a kid who was injured and sick."

Hige opened his mouth to retort but closed it due to the fact he couldn't think of anything to say.

"Oh my," Kiba smiled. "Did I just make Hige speechless? The world must be ending," Kiba teased.

Hige reached up and grabbed Kiba pulling him into the water. Toboe laughed as he watched his friends roll around in the water. It was just like old times.

**AN 2: Ok so I know that there is some OOC in here, but please keep in mind that I'm tweaking their personalities a bit due to the fact that they have all died once and I feel like that might cause some psychological damage. So this is them sort of dealing with it in their own ways.**


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